U.S. patent application number 12/089330 was filed with the patent office on 2008-09-18 for method for producing a data carrier.
This patent application is currently assigned to TRUB AG. Invention is credited to Paul Christen, Stefan Egli, Stephan Hofstetter.
Application Number | 20080224463 12/089330 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35788522 |
Filed Date | 2008-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080224463 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Egli; Stefan ; et
al. |
September 18, 2008 |
Method for Producing a Data Carrier
Abstract
In order to produce a data carrier, a substrate is printed with
a printing ink and personalized by means of a laser. The printing
ink is laser-active and is converted at least in regions during the
personalization in such a way that, for example, a silver-grade
pigment is formed which is readily visible only when the substrate
is inclined. In particular, the printing ink has a comparatively
small proportion of carbon black that is converted by the laser
essentially without disturbing combustion and overall
formation.
Inventors: |
Egli; Stefan; (Basel,
CH) ; Hofstetter; Stephan; (Niedererlinsbach, CH)
; Christen; Paul; (Aarau, CH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
THE WEBB LAW FIRM, P.C.
700 KOPPERS BUILDING, 436 SEVENTH AVENUE
PITTSBURGH
PA
15219
US
|
Assignee: |
TRUB AG
Aarau
CH
|
Family ID: |
35788522 |
Appl. No.: |
12/089330 |
Filed: |
October 6, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
October 6, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CH2006/000550 |
371 Date: |
April 4, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
283/86 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B42D 25/435 20141001;
B42D 2035/34 20130101; B42D 25/00 20141001; B41M 5/26 20130101;
B42D 25/309 20141001; B42D 2033/20 20130101; B42D 2035/16 20130101;
B42D 25/23 20141001; B41M 3/148 20130101; B42D 25/24 20141001; B41M
5/267 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
283/86 |
International
Class: |
B42D 15/00 20060101
B42D015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 12, 2005 |
EP |
05405581.9 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A method for producing a data carrier comprising the steps of;
printing a security element on a substrate such that the security
element is differently visible when the data carrier is tilted; and
introducing data into the substrate via a laser.
22. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the printing is done
with a laser-active printing ink that has a proportion of black
that is metered such that the printing ink is adapted to be
converted with a laser.
23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the printing ink is
converted into a silver-gray pigment.
24. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein at least some
regions of the security element having the printed ink are
converted.
25. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein by using the laser,
data such as a photograph, a signature, a logo, or an alphanumeric
element, are engraved into the substrate, and wherein the printing
ink in the region in which data is engraved is converted.
26. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein lines printed in the
photograph are converted.
27. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the printing ink is
converted such that the printing ink is substantially not visible
at a first angle of incidence of light and is visible or at least
substantially more visible at a second angle of incidence of light
in relation to the first angle of incidence of light.
28. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein a guilloche pattern
is printed and wherein at least one region of the guilloche pattern
is converted by the laser.
29. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the printing ink is
an offset printing ink.
30. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the printing ink is
a colored ink or a light-gray ink.
31. The method as claimed in claim 29, wherein the printing ink
includes a proportion of black, wherein the proportion of black
contains less than 30% carbon black.
32. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the printing ink
includes less than 10% by weight of carbon black or 1-3% by weight
of carbon black.
33. The method as claimed in claim 32, wherein the printing ink has
about three parts of process yellow, about four parts of process
black, and about 200 parts of transparent white.
34. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the substrate is
printed such that the printing ink extends in some regions of the
substrate into the data of the substrate, wherein the data is one
or more of a photograph, text, a signature, and numbers.
35. A data carrier comprising: a substrate having a security
element printed on at least one side of the substrate, wherein the
security element is substantially not visible at a first angle of
incidence of light and is visible or at least substantially more
visible at a second angle of incidence of light in relation to the
first angle of incidence of light; and personalized data introduced
into the substrate.
36. The data carrier as claimed in claim 35, wherein the printing
ink is an offset printing ink adapted to be converted.
37. The data carrier as claimed in claim 36, wherein the converted
printing ink is substantially not visible in a substantially
vertical plan view of the substrate and, in an inclined view, is
visible or at least substantially more clearly visible in relation
to the substantially vertical plan view.
38. The data carrier as claimed in claim 35, wherein the substrate
is printed with a guilloche pattern.
39. The data carrier as claimed in claim 35, wherein the data
carrier is an identification document selected from the group
consisting of a passport, a driver's license, and a bank card.
40. The data carrier as claimed in claim 35, wherein the substrate
forms a single layer or multilayer laminated card.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a method for producing a data
carrier, a substrate being provided with at least one security
element. The invention additionally relates to a data carrier
having a substrate which is provided with a security element on at
least one side and, for example, is labeled with a laser.
[0002] Methods of the aforementioned type have been known for a
long time for producing, for example, identification documents,
such as in particular identity cards, passports, drivers' licenses
and bank cards. By means of laser beams, individual data, such as
photographs, texts and numbers, is introduced into the plastic. In
this case, organic molecules are burned by the laser beam and
carbon black particles are formed as a result. The aforementioned
data can be built up from such carbon black particles by means of
appropriate control of the laser beam. If these carbon black
particles are located in the interior of the plastic or of the
substrate, comparatively high security against forgery is provided.
The security against forgery can be increased in a known way by,
for example, guilloche patterns of black or colored lines being
printed on. This pattern can cover the data introduced with the
laser beam. For example, a photograph can be substantially
protected against forgery attempts by the guilloche lines extending
into such a photograph. Such lines or similar security elements are
to be printed comparatively densely in view of the security against
forgery. However, the disadvantage here is that the identification
and verification of the person on a photograph protected in such a
way can be made more difficult by structures and, in particular,
the guilloche lines. In addition, such lines or other security
elements on portraits can be disruptive and/or be viewed as giving
rise to cultural offense. Also known are transparent kinegrams for
the protection of personalized elements on identification
documents.
[0003] The invention is based on the object of devising a method of
the aforementioned type and a data carrier which avoid the
aforementioned disadvantages. The object is achieved in accordance
with claim 1.
[0004] According to a development of the invention, laser-active
printing ink is used for the printing of the security element and
this is converted with the laser, at least in some regions. By
means of such a conversion, for example in the region of a
photograph, it is possible to convert the security element, for
example in the region of the face, in such a way that it is
invisible or barely visible when viewed normally and in any case is
not disruptive. The printing ink is preferably converted into a
silvery pigment. This is barely visible when viewed normally, above
all in the lighter regions of a face.
[0005] According to a development of the invention, provision is
made for the printing ink to have a proportion of black which is
metered in such a way that the printing ink is converted by the
laser substantially without disruptive burning. Using such a
printing ink it is in particular possible to convert this into a
silver-gray pigment, which cannot be detected in a normal view, in
particular in the area of the face. In an inclined view, on the
other hand, these lines can be detected comparatively simply, above
all in the dark regions, for example in the region of the hair.
Such lines are thus esthetically harmless but nevertheless form a
substantial security element which can be detected reliably and
simply, in particular by a specialist.
[0006] According to a development of the invention, the printing
ink is converted into a silver-gray pigment.
[0007] Using such a silver-gray pigment, it is in particular
possible to produce lines which present no difficulty from an
esthetic point of view.
[0008] Preferably but not exclusively, lines are printed which are
converted in the region of a photograph. In principle, however,
such lines can also be printed or converted in a text or in the
region of numbers.
[0009] Particularly suitable is a method in which the printing ink
is an offset printing ink. This can be both a colored ink and a
gray. Light hues are preferably used, for example mid-gray hues.
According to a development of the invention, it is composed of
about three parts of process yellow, about four parts of process
black and about 200 parts of transparent white.
[0010] The method is suitable for producing all viewable documents
which can be personalized by a laser. The document can be a card or
a page of a booklet, for example what is known as a data page.
[0011] The data carrier according to the invention has a substrate
which is provided on at least one side with a security element,
which is printed and which is differently visible, depending on the
viewing angle.
[0012] According to a development of the invention, the data
carrier is printed with a printing ink which has a proportion of
black of less than 5% by weight, preferably less than 3% by weight.
The proportion of black is preferably 1-3% by weight. The
proportion of black is formed in particular by carbon black
particles. It has been shown that, given a comparatively small
proportion of carbon black particles in the printing ink, no
disruptive burning or bubbles is/are formed during the laser
personalization. In particular, conversion of the printing ink into
a silver-gray pigment can be achieved as a result. The conversion
can be monitored. In addition, it has surprisingly been shown that
this conversion effect is easily visible, in particular in darkly
lasered regions. As a result, the angle of incidence of light has a
substantial influence on the visibility. This effect is
characterized by the fact that, given specific incidence of light,
the regions of the printing ink activated by a laser light up in a
silvery manner. At other angles of incidence of light, this effect
is substantially weaker. The most advantageous effects are achieved
in dark portions that are lasered over a large area, The data
carrier according to the invention can therefore contain a
photograph, for example, which contains esthetically non-disruptive
guilloche lines, which are prominent only when viewed at an angle
and can also be detected simply by a specialist and, given
appropriate training, also by lay persons. As a result, a forgery
can readily be detected immediately by a specialist.
[0013] Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be explained in
more detail below by using the single drawing, in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 shows a partial view of the data carrier according to
the invention and
[0015] FIG. 2 shows a partial view of the inclined data
carrier.
[0016] FIG. 1 shows a portion of a data carrier 1 which, here, is
personalized with a photograph 2, text 4 and numbers 5, for example
an identification number. The substrate 6 is composed in the usual
way of plastic, for example of polycarbonate or PVC, and can have
one or more layers. The upper side shown can be coated with a
varnish or the like. The photograph, the text 4 and the numbers 5
are engraved in with a laser in a manner known per se. The data
carrier 1 is additionally provided with a security element 7, which
is printed and, for example, forms a guilloche pattern comprising a
plurality of comparatively fine curved lines 8. The security
element 7 is, for example, produced with offset printing inks in
the corresponding printing process. The security element 7 extends
into the region of the photograph and/or the region of the text 4
and/or into the region of the numbers 5.
[0017] If the security element 7 is located outside the photograph,
the text 4 and the numbers 5, it is not influenced during the
introduction of the data with the laser. However, if the security
element 7 is located in a region in which the laser beam penetrates
into the substrate 6, the printing ink is activated and converted,
as will be explained below.
[0018] The printing ink for producing the security element 7 is
preferably but not exclusively an offset printing ink which is
laser-active. It has in particular a comparatively small proportion
of black in the form of carbon black particles. In relation to the
entire printing ink, this proportion of black is preferably smaller
than about 10% by weight, preferably smaller than 5% by weight and
preferably smaller than 3% by weight. The proportion of black is
preferably 1 to 3% by weight.
[0019] It has now been shown that, during the laser
personalization, such a printing ink can be converted into a
silver-gray pigment, for example, without disruptive burning and
bubble formation. The conversion appropriately takes place only in
the region in which the laser penetrates into the substrate 6 and
into the printing ink. In these regions, the lines 8 which are
otherwise easily visible are converted, for example into light-gray
and in particular into silver-gray lines. These lines are barely
visible in the light portions, for example in the fade of a
portrait, but are comparatively easily visible in darker portions,
above all when the data carrier 1 is inclined. Such lines 3 can be
seen in the single figure, for example in the region of the hair.
The lines 3 can be detected in particular by the practiced eye of a
specialist. Attempts at forgery unavoidably lead to destruction or
changing of such lines 3, which can be determined more simply and
reliably by a specialist.
[0020] As mentioned, a suitable printing ink is preferably an
offset printing ink. It can be applied to the substrate 6 in the
usual way in the offset printing process. This printing ink has a
proportion of black, this proportion of black preferably containing
less than 30% by weight of carbon black. A suitable mixing ratio
for such a printing ink is composed, for example, of three parts of
process yellow, four parts of process black and 200 parts of
transparent white. However, other inks are of course also
conceivable here.
[0021] The security element 7 is formed in such a way in the
unconverted region that it is differently visible, depending on the
viewing angle. Thus, in the view according to FIG. 1, in which the
viewing angle is approximately 90.degree. to the plane of the
substrate 6, the security element 7 can be seen comparatively
weakly or not at all in the region of the photograph 2. In an
inclined view according to FIG. 2, however, the security element 7
can be seen well or at least substantially better, even in the
region of the photograph 2. In the normal view according to FIG. 1,
the security element 7 is not disruptive or at least barely
disruptive with regard to the photograph 2 or the portrait.
[0022] List of designations
[0023] 1 Data carrier
[0024] 2 Photograph
[0025] 3 Lines
[0026] 4 Text
[0027] 5 Numbers
[0028] 6 Substrate
[0029] 7 Security element (print)
[0030] 8 Lines
* * * * *